Unaccompanied minors and young adults - Assimilation into the Swedish society

Sammanfattning: Unaccompanied minors and young adults is a phenomenon that has been a part of Swedish society for a couple of years due to the refugee crisis from the year 2015. What is interesting to explore is how are they assimilating to their new surroundings, and how they are experiencing that process, what kind of impact has this unique situation had on their development. Another important aspect is exploring what resources do these young individuals see as necessary in order to improve their assimilation. The reason for why it is important to discuss this subject is because unaccompanied minors and young adults are an active part of the society and are still contributing to the community, regardless of if it is a positive or a negative contribution. In order to find answers to these questions a semi-structured group interview was conducted with three former unaccompanied minors about their experiences, opinions and their lives in general. In order to analyse the collected data previous research was used, together with three sociological theories, “Stigma” by Erving Goffman, “Labeling theory” by Frank Tannenbaum and “Theory about integration in the society” by Jeffrey C. Alexander. That last theory explains exactly what assimilation and interconnection are, which is how the majority is allowing and encouraging the minority to enter the society. ​The findings of this study suggest that the stigma and being labeled does affect negatively the assimilation of unaccompanied minors and young adults.​ ​What they themselves ask for in order to make this process less difficult is some understanding and acceptance. Another point that this essay touches upon and discusses is the question of mental health of unaccompanied minors and young adults.